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Windows XP Problem

I am running Windows XP Pro, I went to uninstall a game, it said might not uninstall correctly if more then one user is logged onto the computer. I went to switch users, but then at the log in screen I manually shut down the computer (physically pushed the off button on the computer) after reboot, it began to load windows, then suddenly restarted. When the reboot was half done, I received the screen the prompts to select Normal Start up Mode, Safe Mode, or Command prompt. Normal mode and Safe mode do not work at all, when I ran from the command prompt, it said :

Stop: C0000218 {Registry File Failure}
The rsistry can not load the hive{file}
System root\system\32\config\software
Or its log or alternate
It is corrupt, absent, or not writeable.

This is as far as I can get. Any help would be appreciated, thanks. If any more information is required, please let me know.

Aie. big problem.
I have had something like that before. You can try to use the restore console. You'll have to boot with the XP cd, to wait to load drivers, and to push "r" (read the help before).
But I think personally you will have to reinstall XP.

Try to re-install the XP or try booting from the command prompt and see what you can do from there. As much as I don't want to sound un-helpful, aut0psy has a small point, lol. I don't generally work with Windows, and don't all that much for the sake that I think using a Linux distro such as Redhat or SuSe would be more effiecient. That's just my opinion.

Anyways, what you want to do is try loading a System Restoration Disk (The XP one, shoulda came with the comp) or try re-installing the drivers or the XP OS itself. Hope I helped!

as kisscool said, your best bet to avoid a re-install would be to use the system recovery option when you boot from the Xp cd, i think there might also be a repair installation option there too, but dont quote me on it, when ive had troubles with it (only twice) the repair / recover has worked quite well.

one thing that it wouldnt fix was a registry problem caused by myself when nero started not working, decided to uninstall nero and remove any registry entries associated with it, XP didn't like that very much and the repair didnt work, but it seems like your prob may be fixable with recovery, based on what you said as there are usually registry backups somewhere

Part One
In part one, you boot to the Recovery Console, create a temporary folder, back up the existing registry files to a new location, delete the registry files at their existing location, and then copy the registry files from the repair folder to the System32\Config folder. When you are finished with this procedure, a registry is created that you can use to boot back into Windows XP. This registry was created and saved during the initial setup of Windows XP, so any changes and settings that took place after Setup completes are lost.

Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will restart.
NOTE: This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows folder. Make sure to change C:\Windows to the appropriate windows_folder if it is a different location.

If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the text in step two, and then create a text file called "Regcopy1.txt" (for example). To create this file, run the following command when you boot into Recovery Console:
batch regcopy1.txt
The Batch command in Recovery Console allows for all the commands in a text file to be sequentially processed. When you use the batch command, you do not have to manually type as many commands.
Part Two
To complete the procedure described in this section, you must be logged on as an administrator, or an administrative user (a user who has an account in the Administrators group). If you are using Windows XP Home Edition, you can log on as an administrative user. If you log on as an administrator, you must first start Windows XP Home Edition in Safe mode. To start the Windows XP Home Edition computer in Safe mode, follow these steps.

NOTE: Print these instructions before you continue. You cannot view these instructions after you restart the computer in Safe Mode. If you use the NTFS file system, also print the instructions from Knowledge Base article Q309531, which is referenced in Step 7.
Click Start, click Shut Down (or click Turn Off Computer), click Restart, and then click OK (or click Restart).
Press the F8 key.

On a computer that is configured to start to multiple operating systems, you can press F8 when you see the Startup menu.
Use the arrow keys to select the appropriate Safe mode option, and then press ENTER.
If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, use the arrow keys to select the installation that you want to access, and then press ENTER.
In part two, you copy the registry files from their backed up location by using System Restore. This folder is not available in Recovery Console and is normally not visible during normal usage. Before you start this procedure, you must change several settings to make the folder visible:
Start Windows Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Folder options.
Click the View tab.
Under Hidden files and folders, click to select Show hidden files and folders, and then click to clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box.
Click Yes when the dialog box is displayed that confirms that you want to display these files.
Double-click the drive where you installed Windows XP to get a list of the folders. If is important to click the correct drive.
Open the System Volume Information folder. This folder appears dimmed folder because it is set as a super-hidden folder.

NOTE: This folder contains one or more _restore {GUID} folders such as "_restore{87BD3667-3246-476B-923F-F86E30B3E7F8}".

NOTE: You may receive the following error message:

C:\System Volume Information is not accessible. Access is denied.
If you get this message, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article to gain access to this folder and continue with the procedure:
Q309531 How to Gain Access to the System Volume Information Folder
Open a folder that was not created at the current time. You may have to click Details on the View menu to see when these folders were created. There may be one or more folders starting with "RPx under this folder. These are restore points.
Open one of these folders to locate a Snapshot subfolder folder; the following path is an example of a folder path to the Snapshot folder:
C:\System Volume Information\_restore{D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8}\RP1\Snapshot
From the Snapshot folder, copy the following files to the C:\Windows\Tmp folder:
_REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM
These files are the backed up registry files from System Restore. Because you used the registry file created by Setup, this registry does not know that these restore points exist and are available. A new folder is created with a new GUID under System Volume Information and a restore point is created that includes a copy of the registry files that were copied during part one. This is why it is important not to use the most current folder, especially if the time stamp on the folder is the same as the current time.

The current system configuration is not aware of the previous restore points. You need a previous copy of the registry from a previous restore point to make the previous restore points available again.

The registry files that were copied to the Tmp folder in the C:\Windows folder are moved to ensure the files are available under Recovery Console. You need to use these files to replace the registry files currently in the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder. Recovery Console has limited folder access and cannot copy files from the System Volume folder by default.

NOTE: The procedure described in this section assumes that you are running your computer with the FAT32 file system.
Part Three
In part three, you delete the existing registry files, and then copy the System Restore Registry files to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder:
Boot to Recovery Console.
At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
del c:\windows\system32\config\sam

copy c:\windows\tmp\_registry_user_.default c:\windows\system32\config\default
NOTE: Some of the preceding command lines may be wrapped for readability.
NOTE: This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows folder. Make sure to change C:\Windows to the appropriate windows_folder if it is a different location.

If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the text in step two, and then create a text file called "Regcopy1.txt" (for example).
Part Four
Click Start, and then click All Programs.
Click Accessories, and then click System Tools.
Click System Restore, and then click Restore to a previous Restore Point.

Hope this works for you. I've had similar problems and its not the least bit fun. Good learning experience though.

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